Merlyn Gordon » Uncategorized

The Art of Complex Problem Solving

Merlyn Gordon — Tue, 27 Jul 2010 20:10:35 +0000

The roll-over is text heavy, but the information is excellent.

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The 3rd installment of the infamous slideshow, “What The F**ck Is Social Media?” (via @armano)

Merlyn Gordon — Wed, 21 Jul 2010 22:14:58 +0000

I’ve seen a fair number of “social media stats” videos and slides recently (usually with bad techno music), but this presentation is still a knock-out with good visuals:

What the F**k is Social Media NOW?

View more presentations from Marta Kagan.

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Collective Nouns Illustrated (via @stoweboyd)

Merlyn Gordon — Thu, 24 Jun 2010 22:04:14 +0000

via all-sorts.org

I like the tangle of octupses the best (http://all-sorts.org/images/illustrations/octopuses.png)

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500 Wrecks in the World’s Largest Ship Cemetery (via @good @seanbell)

Merlyn Gordon — Mon, 12 Apr 2010 01:53:42 +0000

"Nouadhibou means 'where the jackals get fat.' It is also where ships go to die." So writes the photographer Jan Smith, who captured haunting images of abandoned shipwrecks in Mauritania's Nouadhibou Bay, which is perhaps the world's largest ship cemetery. When Smith attempted to venture into Mauritania in 2008, he encountered no shortage of struggle. "I was turned away at the border, slept in a mine field, and was accused of espionage. No one believed I would travel to the remoteness of Nouadhibou to simply take pictures of rotting ships."

After being detained by the Moroccan army, Smith was eventually able to fly into Mauritania directly and photograph the shipwrecks. The experience exposed him to a sometimes contradictory place, where one the one hand illegal immigrants lived in miles of shacks (slavery existed there until 1981 and its legacy persists to this day), and on the other Smith himself was shown extraordinary hospitality. But behind everything lies a mysterious sea of abandoned ships—"a testimony to corruption," as Smith puts it—whose origins are largely unknown, though they are most vestiges of the rampant insurance fraud (where boats are simply abandoned) that takes place in those waters.

As he puts it, though, Smith did not go to Mauritania to make a documentary. Rather than passing judgment, he "seeks beauty in what was left to be forgotten."

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Disheartening SPAM infographic from @newscientist (via @fastcompany)

Merlyn Gordon — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:08:56 +0000

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Corned Beef Recipe Infographic (via @flowingdata)

Merlyn Gordon — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 16:58:25 +0000

Wonder if this would work for a venison roast I have in the freezer.

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Beautiful work by Nicholas Felton – 2009 Felton Report (@feltron)

Merlyn Gordon — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 17:46:56 +0000

The 2009 Felton Annual Report

Each day in 2009, Nicholas Felton asked every person with whom he had a meaningful encounter to submit a record of this meeting through an online survey. These reports form the heart of the 2009 Annual Report.

Hard copies can be ordered here: http://feltron.com/shop.html

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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New book is on my Amazon Wish List Q&A: Malcolm Gladwell (via @mitchjoel)

Merlyn Gordon — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 20:46:22 +0000

Author Malcolm Gladwell talks to C-SPAN about his new book, "What the Dog Saw," a compilation of his stories appearing in "The New Yorker" magazine.

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The great alone: Scott and Shackleton’s Antarctic (via @newscientist)

Merlyn Gordon — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:08:46 +0000

Robert Scott’s ill-fated trip to Antarctica and Ernest Shackleton’s attempt to cross it are great tales of human endurance. Here we present photos taken by their on-board photographers, Herbert Ponting and Frank Hurley, presented in the book The Heart of the Great Alone.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

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Dog-Eared Books: What’s In Your Reference Library?

Merlyn Gordon — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 02:29:32 +0000

Photo credit: Paul

Have you stopped marking-up dictionaries, saving how-to manuals, and turning the corners on reference books? Has the Kindle, Evernote, Instapaper, or even social networks changed the way you collect, annotate and archive reference material?

I’m a voracious reader, and although I continue to invest in non-fiction written on dead trees (Chris Brogan’s Trust Agents and Mitch Joel’s Six Pixels of Separation are on their way!), I’ve noticed that my stack of reference books – those resources I return to over and over again for formulas, diagrams, definitions, and templates – are no longer increasing at warp speed. I think my last reference purchase was the American Practical Navigator three years ago.

I continue to add to my collection of topographic maps (there is no way I’ll rely on electronics in the backcountry), but I can’t deny that the composition of my reference library has evolved over the past 18-months. Feed readers, web applications, social networks, and mobile devices have shifted my focus away from bound paper towards electronic documents and virtual connections. These new technologies and social networking opportunities have had the positive effect of facilitating rapid search and improving access to information. In addition, I’m no longer constrained by physical book shelves and storage bins.

I’ll still collect knot-tying books and travel guides, but I suspect these will also be replaced by their online equivalents.

Have new technologies and the widespread availability of digital content changed the composition of your reference library? What about audio books, video and camera phones? Is your social network your new reference library?